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We admire the drive and passion it takes for all of our artists to continually create new music and get it up online for the world to hear. Lately we have been in awe of German pop act, To Be We, who have been releasing one single per week since October. Yes you read correctly, 16 singles.

Usually when we select an artist to write about for our weekly Spinnup Introducing feature, we have a track or two of the artist’s to choose from, so you can imagine how difficult it was for us to choose between tracks like ‘Hesitate‘, ‘The Autopsy‘ and latest single, ‘Down The Waterfall‘.

The Stuttgart based duo is made up of Hagen Wagner & Julian Lindenmann, a producer-vocalist duo that mix strong electronic beats with intimate guitar rhythms and sometimes melancholic vocals. Using digital tools and social media to their advantage, Hagen and Julian decided to steer away from a traditional release schedule and produce one single a week to release on Spotify every Friday. The project began in October, but they won’t fill us in on when it will end – and we’re hoping it’s no time soon!

While their tracks are up on all our partner stores, To be We have chosen to focus their efforts on Spotify, curating a playlist which they add each new release into. Crediting our flexibility and ability to get their tracks up on time, To Be We chose Spinnup to put their plan into action, and we couldn’t be happier to be a part of such an ambitious project.

Make sure to listen to their One Single A Week playlist below and follow them on Spotify to stay up to date with their new releases!

They say “never judge a book by its cover” however I’m 99,99% sure that I’m not the only person on this Earth to do exactly that and the same goes for music. So, when you have your hot new release it’s important to put the same amount of blood, sweat and tears into the cover art as you did into the crafting the release. Plus, it’s good to stand out visually on Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer and the rest…

It’s not important only so that the release is packaged with a pretty, striking or necessarily revolutionary image, it’s important because it is the first thing any fans, and potential new fans, will see and judge before hearing your track (apart from Spotify playlists, but let’s not get into that now). Unsurprisingly, it’s more likely that if a listener doesn’t like your cover art, they won’t be hitting play on your hot new track. Read more

We’re back for 2018, showcasing a different Spinnup artist each week that we think you need to know about with #SpinnupIntroducing.

The first act up for the year is Scottish electronic duo Chuchoter. The Edinburgh based duo immediately caught out attention late last year with their debut Spinnup release, ‘Pieces‘, a buzz-worthy electronic jam packed with disco-pop synths and catchy melodies. Obviously we had to know more about the newcomers, so we got in touch with producer Owen McAllister and vocalist Emily Smith to get to the bottom of who Chuchoter are.

Growing up in rural Aberdeenshire, Owen and Emily’s met in high school, sharing early musical influences from the likes of like James Taylor, The Smith and Hall and Oates. After moving to the city to study Music at the University of Edinburgh, these influences evolved into something more akin to their musical style, drawing on artists such as Bossy Love, Shamir, Chvrches and Jamie XX.

Having almost finished their studies (Emily) and working as an audio engineer (Owen), these two have made their mark on the local underground scene playing a number of shows, including a support slot for Australian rising stars Kllo. Now the duo are back in the studio and focussed on creating stimulating and accessible pop music. With an EP already under their belt, their new release ‘Pieces’ sees Chuchoter continuing their sonic exploration. If we could use one word to describe the track it would be ‘anthemic’. Emily’s powerful vocal oozes emotion, sitting perfectly over Owen’s layers of retro glitchy synths, drums and claps, creating an appeal for everyone from electronic buffs to pop fans.

Having spent years building their sound together, Owen and Emily feel like they’ve hit on something that really encapsulates their style. We got in touch to ask them about their musical process, here’s what they had to say.

Spinnup:‘Pieces’ is an incredible track, so many layers and moving parts – how do you guys come up with something like that?

Chuchoter: Usually when we write something, Owen will work on a track and put that all together using Sibelius then ProTools. Owen is a drummer with a background in Jazz and a deep love of Disco, so naturally his work is really rhythmically driven and the music is quite dense, definitely not a standard 4-chord progression. He tries to fiddle with something new every time he writes, whether it’s a sound or a new harmonic direction or a new beat structure that he hasn’t tried yet.

Once Owen is happy with a track, he shoots it over to Emily to listen and come up with some lyrics. This either happens in half an hour or takes months, there’s not really an in between! Emily will get a feel for the track, try to relate it to a feeling or a theme or an attitude and take it from there. Sometimes the lyrics will just come and the song will be done in one session. If it’s a more difficult one, the lyrics take a bit more work to unlock, and it can be months, even up to a year, of working on it. Once it’s done we’re usually absolutely bouncing about it. We then pop into the studio to get the vocals down ASAP, take it home to mix and we usually have the whole thing done in a few days.

Spinnup: How would you describe Chuchoter’s sound, in your own words?

Chuchoter: Emily grew up listening to great singer/songwriters like James Taylor, Carole King, Suzanne Vega, etc. so she’s soaked up that flair for word setting and colourful metaphor. She also doesn’t take shit from anyone and we think that comes across in the latest track ‘Pieces’. The combination between the rhythmic and harmonic complexity that Owen brings, and the attitude and colour that Emily creates is what really makes Chuchoter sound like it does. It’s this combination that also makes it difficult to describe our sound. Usually we go for electronic pop, but there’s bits of everything in there, so it’s difficult to put your finger on exactly what we are.

Spinnup: We’re so glad to have you on Spinnup! How did you find the self-distribution process?

Chuchoter: When we were thinking about releasing ‘Pieces’ we did a lot of research on what would be the best way to release it. As an unsigned band it can be quite daunting putting your product out there, especially when we create every part of each track ourselves, from the writing to the recording to the mix. The internet is so saturated with new bands, it can be difficult to get it to a place where anyone will hear it. That’s what we liked about Spinnup. It’s really easy to use, it gets your music on all the major platforms, everything’s checked by the staff including the cover art, and there are scouts with direct lines to Universal that listen to your stuff and give you really valuable feedback. It was an easy choice really!

Spinnup:Okay, we’re dying to know – what’s up next for you guys?

Chuchoter: We have a few shows lined up for 2018, but nothing’s finalised as of yet, but you can expect to hear from us playing in Scotland and England real soon!

Around Christmas in Iceland it is traditional to sit inside eating lots of chocolate and reading books. But to be honest if it was that cold outside where I lived, I’d probably do that too…

No matter where you are in the world, this list of the 12 best FREE music guides are all must-reads for any independent artist.

In the lead up to Christmas we’ve given you the 12 best free VST plugins to make music, the 12 best free promotional tools to get your music out there, and now last but not least, we have the best online guides on a range of topics from songwriting to mixing, music theory and more.

So grab a *insert hot drink of choice here* and settle down in *insert preferred reading spot here* and educate yourself as an artist with these informative guides.

1. How To Be Creative – Hugh MacLeod

Inspirational illustrated advice book to spur you on to finish your tracks

5. Understanding Basic Music Theory – Catherine Schmidt-Jones

6. Learning to Read Music – Peter Nickol

Whether you want to learn how to play an instrument, or just refresh your existing capability, whether you sing in a choir, or would simply like to follow scores while listening, this book will help you achieve your aim, letting you read music with ease.

11. Take the Oath: A Practical Pocket Guide for the Career Indie Musician – Don Harrison

This book is a first hand account on what has worked not only for the author, but for other artists he personally knew who were making a money from performing music. Step by step, detail by detail, laid out in a simple, easy- to-understand language

For this week’s #Introducing we’re taking you back our home, Sweden. It’s no secret that the local hip-hop industry up and down the country is BOOMING right now, and we are lucky to have some of the best names on the scene as part of our Spinnup family.

Anyone with an ear for good hip hop in Sweden is sure to have heard of Karim thanks to his previous releases ‘Broder‘, the Abdelaziz BouteflikaEP,and the Spinnup-distributed‘Cocaina‘

The Stockholm-based artist has achieved HUGE success as an independent artist, recently achieving certified GOLD sales in his home country for ‘Jag Kan Dig‘ featuring friend and frequent collaborator, the Gramis-nominated Mwuana.

Make sure to stream ‘Jag Kan Dig’ below, and be on the lookout for future releases from the emcee. Together, artists like Karim, Saimon Kay, Ivory, Mwuana and more are putting Swedish hip hop on the map!

For the second year in a row our Danish team have run an amazing competition that gives independent artists the chance to win an invaluable ‘Spinnup Scholarship’, which includes prize money and other industry support. This year’s scholarship grantee is urban-electro singer-songwriter Kihla! The Jury who picked her out consisted of A&Rs from Universal Music, Spinnup Scouts, and reps from Spotify and Glass Management. Together they had no doubt that the scholarship belonged to Kihla:

“Kihla is a one woman army who creates all her music by herself – she has the full package with a strong visual image on the side of her music. Her sound is fully defined and her music is pure coolness”, says Christian Skjølstrup, the manager for Danish music sensation Gulddreng, and part of the jury who selected Kihla for the scholarship.

The story of Kihla starts 15 years ago when she, as a 5 year old, got a mini piano from a thrift store. Later, she upgraded to a keyboard and despite being the only musician in her family, Micheal Jackson and Whitney Houston were always playing on the stereo in her home. Artists who Kihla notes as some of her first big inspirations.

Now she makes her own music, which she describes it as a mix of pop, R&B and futuristic jazz. All her music is produced on Garageband on an iPad – but even though Kihla’s equipment is simple her dreams are anything but:

“I haven’t seen that many artists who look like me and make the same type of music in Denmark, so I’m exited to see how people receive my tracks. My hope is of course to become one of the cool female artists who manages to get a platform on the Danish market, but first and foremost I’m really excited to now have the funding to make even more music.”

The scholarship Kihla receives includes 20.000 dkk and a performance at one of the biggest music industry festivals in Denmark, Spot Festival. After revealing her as the winner, the Spinnup Denmark team surprised Kihla with her own digital billboard in the centre of Copenhagen, and caught it all on video! We are so excited to follow Kihla’s journey and music from the iPad, to the music studio, to the stage in front of a huge audience at Spot Festival in 2018.

We are so happy to announce our 34th artist signing to Universal Music, Denmark’s BEKO!

At just 17 years old – born and raised in Taastrup, Denmark, Beko is our youngest signing to date. He was discovered through Spinnup by a Scout via his certified hit ‘Adriano‘, which has gained over 1,000,000 streams organically on Youtube and Spotify combined.

BEKO’s style could best be described as urban, with strong influences from his Turkish roots – and like himself – a balanced mix of toughness and sensitivity. The young artist has a keen understanding and ability to combine the more sentimental and personal aspects of his life with his tougher ‘street’ side in both sound and lyrics. He is a man of contrasts who dares to publicly explore feelings and thoughts about himself and his surroundings.

Last week we gifted you with the 12 Best Free VST Pluins, and this week the season of giving continues with the 12 best FREE promotional tools to get you and your music heard by as many people as possible! Alright, let’s get these goodies inside and unpack one by one…

You know the saying “you can’t judge a book by its cover”? Well people do, and they will judge your artwork. You don’t need to be a professional designer, just use this online graphic design tool to create bespoke and professional looking artwork

An easy-to-use email client to send good-looking and engaging emails to your users. Read thisguide for email marketingto make sure you’re up to scratch on the ins and outs of email marketing. If you have collected any fan email addresses, put them to good use and start connecting with your fans directly to their inbo

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